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Up to 100,000 cattle, horses and other animals died in the rogue blizzard that hit western South Dakota plus parts of Wyoming and Nebraska in the early days of October, entombed where they fell in the snow.

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Entombed in Snow: Up to 100,000 Cattle Perished Where They Stood in Rogue South Dakota Blizzard

Christina Rose

10/13/13

The animals held out as long as they could against the punishing 70-mile-per-hour winds and the blinding snow. Unable to get to safety, thousands of cattle, horses and other animals simply died where they fell—or stood—in the storm that lashed western South Dakota for 24 hours earlier this month, with whipping winds lasting well into the following day.

State Senator Al Davis of Nebraska, which was also hit, visited the affected areas last week and estimated that up to 100,000 cattle and other livestock died, he said in a statement. Ranchers are assessing millions of dollars in damages that will affect the region’s economy for years.

“Things here are far worse than I anticipated in terms of deaths among cattle,” Davis said. “Livestock losses on the plains of Nebraska, South Dakota and Wyoming are estimated to be between 60,000 and 100,000 head. There are also animals that will sicken and die as time goes on which will add to these numbers.”

Though South Dakota is famous for extreme winter weather, that fateful storm seemed to bring all of it at once. Tornadoes, thunder and lightning, high winds and driving snow were reported in Nebraska, Iowa and South Dakota, all of which run along the borders of South Dakota’s Indian reservations.

The animals and their owners were caught completely unaware by the unseasonable storm, which in a mere three days dumped more snow than the region usually receives for all of October. Ranchers had not yet moved the animals from their summer pastures to their winter areas, where more shelter is available, they said. Further, there was only a 12-hour warning before the storm hit. And the animals had not yet grown their winter coats, which might have helped them cope.

The rolling hills of the prairies create areas that dip and fill with snowdrifts, and many of the animals were found caught in those drifts. Ranchers said most of the cattle died along the fence lines, their calves beside them, as they tried to escape the treacherous conditions.

A week later, cattle sunned themselves behind lines of broken trees, and calves frolicked in the grass. But in the same pastures, along the fence line, dead cattle still stood deep in snow, forming a veritable trail of carcasses, Butte County emergency management director Martha Wierzbicki told the Rapid City Journal. Besides calves, the dead included cows that would have delivered calves next year, NBC News noted. And those that lived may very well abort over the winter, Davis said.

“Some cows managed to survive the storm by eating pine needles because grass was covered,” the state senator said in his statement, which was posted on the Rapid City Journalsite. “This will cause them to abort the calves they are carrying in the next few weeks.”

"This is absolutely, totally devastating," said rancher Steve Schell to the Rapid City Journal. "This is horrendous."

How many of those animals died on the Pine Ridge Reservation itself has yet to be tallied. With layoffs occurring throughout the tribe in the wake of the U.S government shutdown, and massive power outages caused by the storm, resources have been slim. And ranchers are still searching for cattle that were driven miles away by the high winds.

“The government shutdowns have been hard on us,” said Ben Good Buffalo, Lakota, of Red Shirt, South Dakota.

Ranchers and individuals on the Pine Ridge Reservation lost not only their cattle and calves, but also their horses and other beloved animals, said Pine Ridge Eagle Nest District representative Ruth Brown. While the majority of the cattle lost most likely belonged to ranchers who lease reservation land, tribal members also ranch, and their livestock was also lost in the storm, said Lyle Jack, chairman of the Pine Ridge Community Development Corporation.

“We do have Indian ranchers, and driving around, I see cattle lying around,” he told ICTMN. “Quite a bit was lost.”

Many ranchers lost 20 to 50 percent of their herds, said Silvia Christen, executive director of the South Dakota Stockgrowers Association, to the Rapid City Journal. Some of the cattle had just been brought up from Texas because of the severe drought.

This week the ranchers will start the heartbreaking and daunting task of getting rid of the carcasses. Pennington County in South Dakota is offering livestock-disposal assistance, Keloland TV News reported.

“Pits are being dug for livestock losses and these pits will be open to all producers on Monday, October 14, free of charge,” the station said. “The locations will be announced on Monday morning.”

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So very sorry that such devastation occurred in your communities. We are starting a coat drive for the Native Americans, and will have the donations delivered by November 1st. Our prayers are with all of you as you begin to recover. You are not alone although at this time, you may think you are.

I want you all to know how very sad I am over this horrific loss you have encountered..May god be with each and everyone of you and to the livestock and horses and any other creature that was loss during this storm...........from Missouri

I want you all to know how very sad I am over this horrific loss you have encountered..May god be with each and everyone of you and to the livestock and horses and any other creature that was loss during this storm...........from Missouri

I am beyond shocked and saddened by this. My sister and I just visited SD for the first time on Sept 15 and we're from Boulder, CO; we escaped the floods here to take our trip to see the Black Hills. It was beautiful, green and gorgeous. This is just unbelievable to see and our hearts go out to you all.

I'm from Wisconsin but I was visiting the black hills the week of the blizzard. It was crazy, it went from high sixties and sunny Monday through Wednesday. Then the wind starting blowing from the north and by thursday it was raining with a high of like thirty six. When I woke up at four on Friday, several inches of snow were already on the ground and it had turned very bad out. Not wanting to get stuck in the blizzard we left as soon as first light came. It took a very long time just to get to Rapid city. We took highway 44 through the badlands were it stayed a blizzard until we crossed the Missouri river. Along the way you could see the cattle hunched up and struggling to stay warm by the fence lines. My prayers and blessings are with all who were affected by the blizzard.

My heartfelt prayers and thoughts go to who suffered such a devastating loss. I'm a horse owner myself and know how hard it was to lose just one. May God be with you all during this terrible time and keep you all safe. May He grant you prosperity and the will to stay strong. We are with you in spirit and heart.

This is dis-heartening! And it's happening way too often around the world. Freak storms and enormous animal deaths; recently, Uruguay lost thousands of sheep in a torrential rain storm. If scientists now control the weather (example: "HAARP") with funding assistance by the Rockefeller Foundation, why are they not helping the situation? Or, are they causing these freak storms and massive animal deaths?

This is heartbreaking - for the animals and the farmers, but, I wonder it, in the face of weather changes due to global warming, these farmers would consider joining their farms into a massive nature reserve. They could stock it with animals native to the area, build resorts and chalets, and encourage tourists to come and stay and go for game drives, wilderness walks and photographic tours. The native animals would cope better with the weather than cattle and horses would, and it would help bring a bit more of the planet back to its natural self. Just a thought....

I agree with a couple of the commentators that native animals, buffalo, are raised in lieu of cattle. I for one would rather eat buffalo instead of beef. I can feel for the farmers, but I have a hard time justifying a government paying 100 percent of the price of the loss. Will it happen again next year? Rich insurance companies should be footing the bill, not us.